This caught my attention: dB Music has a You Tube channel "Remaking songs using isolated vocals"
Uploads at present have largely focused on Boy George and Pet Shop Boys, with associates Dusty Springfield, Liza Minelli and David Bowie (a remix of a PSB remix) appearing. Oh, and Limahl, with The Never Ending Story.
The one that hooked me in was Stranger In This World, a Boy George song written in the late 1990s for an abandoned album project and subsequently featured in his 2002 musical Taboo, albeit performed by the cast. I wasn't familar with any recording of the song, so approached it with fresh ears.
The original demo is a downtempo, acoustic-driven reflective song. The remix is a synth-drenched, ambient affair. George delivers a fine vocal and the remix does it justice. The former possibly edges it, just because it's so fully formed that it could easily have been released 'as is', but dB Music's rework is on a level and if both were paired as a single release, I think it would work well.
From the Pet Shop Boys, I've gone for Can You Forgive Her?, a UK #7 in June 1993 and instantly recognisable from the opening bars.
The album/single version is four minutes of pop brilliance, remixed back in the day by Rollo (Faithless) and MK aka Mark Kinchen. dB has taken the bold step of transforming the song into a 12-minute (synth) orchestral, club-friendly 'monster'.
There are times when I'm sure it's going to collapse under the weight of its own ambition but dB pulls it off. Reminiscent of what Brothers In Rhythm were doing in the 1990s, and that's a compliment as it's on a par.
I will revisit the channel to listen to more of dB's remixes. I'd love to see a spotlight on Billy MacKenzie, for one.
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